Waking Up in Atlas
by ezmodo
Summary: A collection of short stories about Ruby and Jaune waking up in Atlas. Ongoing. Crossposted from Tumblr.
1. Being Smart

_Welp,_ Ruby thought idly as the morning sun filtered in through the blinds, _so much for being smart._

—

Ruby had planned on being smart at first. They had been buddies since their first day at Beacon and now, nearly two years and three continents later, they were closer than ever. She knew she loved him, but did she _love _love him? Did he feel the same? Could she risk it? Besides, the world was practically ending. She was a huntress with a mission to accomplish. Monsters to slay, people to save. She had a responsibility, both to her team and the world, to stay focused on the mission and lead them through safely.

So she wouldn't do anything. There was enough on both of their plates and things didn't need to get complicated by something dumb like romance. Ruby figured she'd put her feelings on the backburner for now and focus on the fight ahead of them. Once Salem was defeated she'd put it all out there and see how he felt. Until then, she'd keep those feelings to herself.

Atlas had been rough going for Team RWBY. With General Ironwood effectively confining them to Atlas and Mantle down below, they had no mission to distract them from just how miserable the city could be. Weiss and Blake had the worst of it, and Ruby and Yang found themselves coming up short on how to help. Weiss insisted on facing her family issues alone, trying to shield her team from her snake of a father. Blake wanted to do her part to help the Faunus of Mantle in any way she could but found herself rebuffed at every angle, both by humans and the Faunus she wanted to help.

Ruby felt overwhelmed. Six month hike through Grimm infested woods? Sounds fun. Crazed scorpion assassin? Bring it on. Unkillable Grimm Queen bent on burning the kingdoms to the ground? She was locked and loaded and in it for the long haul.

But Blake standing in front of the mirror with a ribbon in hand, contemplating hiding her ears again? Weiss excusing herself at random times whenever her father called, only to show up later so withdrawn and deflated that it broke Ruby's heart? It felt like their team was sinking and Ruby and Yang weren't enough to keep the team afloat.

But through it all, Jaune was there. With a smile, a hand on her shoulder, and, in one instance, a snowball, he and Team JNPR were there to help shoulder the burden. Particularly rough days would end with JNPR forcing their way into RWBY's room for board game night or to drag them out to the common room to watch movies. Jaune wielded Nora like a blunt instrument, blowing past Weiss' snippy refusals and Blake's moody deflections. He would even sic Nora on them, ordering her to throw the sulky girls over her shoulder to carry them along when they weren't being cooperative.

All aboard the Nora train, full speed ahead. No stops, no excuses, no surrender!

It saved them. With JNPR's help, Ruby and Yang started making progress with their partners. Things were still pretty miserable but Weiss was opening up about her family and Blake leaned on them more. JNPR had brought that sense of normalcy back to their lives that had been missing since Beacon. Back when they would argue about their weekend plans at lunch, when they would complain about homework between class periods. Back when they didn't know the world was ending.

But for Ruby, it wasn't quite the same. Sitting with Jaune in class never used to bring butterflies to her stomach. Being squeezed in next to him on the couch never used to make her skin tingle. His smile never used to bring heat to her face, his dopey grin after a good spar never made her heart race like this, and her eyes never used to linger on him quite so long. Thankfully Jaune, dense as he was, never seemed to notice. Weiss, however, had caught her more than once. _Stop being a dolt,_ her partner told her each time, usually with a huff and a quick turn of the head that caused Weiss' flail of a braid to smack her dismissively. Weiss must have agreed that Ruby needed to get her priorities straight.

She was trying her hardest not to be a dolt. Really! Jaune just made that really, really hard sometimes.

_Most _times.

After a while she had found a solution that worked for her. Most days would end with Ruby retiring to her room where she would scream her happy frustration into her pillow as she rapidly kicked her legs into the bed. She got confused stares from Yang and Blake but a knowing 'dolt' from Weiss. Is this what Pyrrha had went through on a daily basis? Ruby was desperate for something, _anything_ to distract her from this mess she had found herself in.

At least until Mantle was attacked and they nearly lost each other. Ruby's stint in the hospital lasted just over a week, the wounds she took just barely stabilized by Jaune's semblance during the battle. The tongue-lashing she received from her team still stung – how she should take better care of herself, how she shouldn't be so reckless, how she couldn't just throw herself into danger because they had a healer in their group, and on and on and _on_. She felt guilty, of course, but she knew that if she were put in the same situation she wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again.

Jaune's stay in the hospital lasted nearly a month. Acute aura exhaustion, the doctors called it; he had used up the last bits of his aura healing her. He spent a week hooked up to all sorts of machines and another two weeks asleep in bed. Their friends all rotated through to make sure he wasn't alone when he woke up. Ruby started to think that maybe her own team was there to keep _her _company more than anything – between the attached bathroom and the deluxe sleeping bag Weiss provided, Ruby never really saw the need to leave.

She woke one night to a hand gently stroking her hair. It felt so nice that she leaned into it, still half asleep, but when she finally cracked an eye open she saw him. Jaune was leaning over the side of the bed, cords and tubes stretched to their limit, as he looked down at her with an expression she didn't know how to read. But when Ruby's stomach fluttered she knew what she _hoped _that look meant. Ruby sprung to her feet as she fought the zipper to the sleeping bag she was still cocooned in. Jaune just looked at her, rooted to the spot in embarrassment after being caught.

With the sleeping bag still tangled about her legs, Ruby hopped clumsily towards the head of the bed and lunged at him, half lying across the mattress as she buried her face in his chest. She stayed that way for a few minutes, his hospital gown bunched in her fists as she willed her heart not to explode. With a thousand things she wanted to tell him bouncing around in her head, she lifted her hands to his shoulders and pulled herself up to look him in the eye for the first time in too long.

Lit by the faint light of the equipment around him, unshed tears shimmered in the corners of his eyes. _You're okay_ was all he whispered, relief obvious as he sagged back against the headboard under her weight. Ruby was sick of seeing him cry, no matter the reason.

Without thinking, she did a really dumb thing.

It was a pretty poor attempt as far as first kisses went, Ruby thought. She practically headbutted him on her way up and made their teeth clack together painfully when she mashed her lips into his face. She went too high, only catching his upper lip and causing their noses to mash together uncomfortably. Worst of all, she didn't ask. She didn't even know how he felt, she just dove in head first without thinking like she always did. _Stupid. Dolt._ She was frozen against him, lips still smashed into his, as a voice screamed in her head that she just did the dumbest thing imaginable.

Until he kissed her back.

—

They _might _have been on their way to being really, really dumb that night. They were saved from their stupidity when the team of night nurses came barreling into the room – apparently Ruby ripping cords and disconnecting sensors that were in her way was a surefire method to make the staff think their patient had either suddenly dropped dead or was making his escape. They had been caught as Jaune was trying to help her untangle the sleeping bag from around her feet, struggling because they refused to separate for air.

They kicked her out, naturally.

The laughter and raunchy jokes of the nurses followed her as she made her way back to the dorm that night. Despite the cold, she was burning up. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life. Was this the walk of shame Yang had told her about?

Scratch that. Returning to the hospital the following day was way worse. _This_ had to be the real walk of shame. The night nurses must have been talking – Ruby could feel the eyes of the day shift workers follow her as she and her friends made their way to Jaune's room. She pulled her hood up to hide as she shrunk under their gaze, whispers following her to Jaune's room.

Apparently it wasn't a secret from Nora either. The truth must have been plain on Ruby and Jaune's faces. All it took was one quick glance between the blushing leaders and Nora's knowing grin nearly split her face. She didn't say anything, opting instead to crush Ruby in a bearhug and thank her for "taking care" of her leader. Ruby whimpered as Jaune turned a shade darker. Ruby had realized it back when they were still on the road to Mistral, but Nora's intuition was downright _scary _sometimes.

Ruby looked helplessly to her partner and realized Nora wasn't the only one who figured it out. Weiss's smile was small but pleased as she gave Ruby a single proud nod. Maybe Weiss was calling her a dolt for a different reason all along.

Ruby and Jaune finally had a chance to talk the day he got out of the hospital. He told her that he'd been struggling with the same problem she had. To her dismay, he agreed that they had to be smart about this. The stakes were too high and they had too many people they cared about to let them down by getting distracted with a relationship. Just knowing how the other felt would have to be enough for now.

They could still be smart. They had a momentary lapse in judgment but they would get their act together. They were leaders. They had responsibilities. They were going to be smart!

They lasted three days.

To be fair, three days was the longest Ruby had ever held off on anything she wanted so badly. And really, it was Jaune's fault. It was easier when their friends were around to act as unknowing chaperones but none of their friends went to leadership class with them and that's where Jaune doomed them.

He held her hand. No prompting, no warning, he just took her hand halfway through lecture and didn't let go until class was dismissed. She couldn't remember a thing from that lecture and, judging by the look on his face, Jaune didn't either.

The floodgates were open. They played footsies at lunch, leaned against one another whenever their teams watched movies (but not so much that anyone noticed) and even held hands using a pillow to hide them. It was all very dumb and childish, Ruby thought, especially compared to what they were about to do in that hospital room. She was worried she'd reenact _that _in a heartbeat if she were given the chance and then she'd be completely done for.

They were getting dumber by the minute but this was still salvageable. They just needed a plan.

They didn't realize someone else already had one ready for them.

—

Sitting in class with Jaune one day, Yang sent her a message.

_going 2 mantle with blake + everyone for faunus stuff, gonna hit the town after, call when on ur way_

Ruby sighed. She was never big on the night life, but maybe it'd be fun. As long as Yang didn't make them go to a club…

Her scroll buzzed again. Nora this time.

_you can have the room, we'll be out aaaaallllll night ;)_

Ruby spluttered, giving Jaune's hand an unintentional squeeze. He looked over at her with an eyebrow raised in confusion. She shook her head silently at him and pretended to turn her attention back to class as the heat started creeping up her neck. Stupid Nora being a bad influence…

She was trying to do the smart thing here!

As they made their way back to their rooms, Ruby's mind and heart was racing. She should just tell him about going down to Mantle and everything would be fine. They could hold hands on the way down even, that was still within reason!

Her scroll buzzed again. Weiss?

_I left something on your bed._

Okay…? Maybe she wanted her to bring it along with them? A moment later, she added to it.

_Don't be a dolt._

Ruby swallowed. Jaune was already breaking away from her, saying something about checking with Ren and Nora as he went towards his team's room.

Ruby let herself into her own room and quickly made her way to the bed where a small plastic bag was waiting for her. Steeling herself, she took a quick peek inside and immediately closed the bag tight again.

Was that a box of…? Yup. Definitely. Couldn't be anything else. Now her heart was really hammering. Nora she could understand, but even Weiss? Weiss had to have understood the responsibility that rested on Ruby's shoulders. She had no choice but to be the smart one here. Taking a shuddering breath, Ruby turned on her heel and left the room, bag unknowingly clutched tight in her shaking hands.

Jaune stood stock-still in the doorway of JNPR's room, staring dumbly at something within. He didn't respond when she quietly said his name so she squeezed past him to see what he was looking at.

The amount of candles Nora had strewn all over the dorm was downright comical.

She chuckled anxiously at the scene and looked down at the bag she had in her hands, the box inside most likely crushed by her nervous fingers.

Turning back to him, she noticed Jaune staring at her. He looked nervous too, and excited. Just like her.

Wetting her lips, she smiled up at him and took his hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze in response and smiled down at her. They were both shaking slightly with nervous anticipation and when Ruby pulled him further into the room he followed eagerly, letting the door close behind them.

—

_Welp, so much for being smart._

But as she lay in a bed just a tad too small for two, Jaune's soft snoring tickling the back of her neck, Ruby found being dumb suited her just fine.


	2. Okay

The nightmare, like everything in Atlas, was stark white.

He pulled his siblings close as he continued to pour his aura into them. They'd been hurt horribly during the battle but the battle was done and he had them now. He'd give them every last bit of himself if he had to. They'd be okay.

The beast, a metal monstrosity with too many limbs, continued to speak to him from where it lay broken on the floor nearby. It spoke with a man's voice, smooth and eloquent yet full of arrogance and condescension. They were nothing but test subjects, the man behind the machine had said, and despite being brought low the voice continued to mock him. He ignored it, tightening his grip on his family as he shared his aura with them.

She appeared suddenly in a whirl of red roses, the girl he'd followed halfway around the world. She stood there all in red, the only color in that white waste, and relief surged through him. She was okay.

But she was crying. A sudden panic gripped his heart. In all the time he'd been with her, he'd never seen her cry.

Where were her sisters? Her uncle? The boy their teams had adopted into their family? He pulled his own brother and sister closer to his chest. _Bring them here,_ he tried to say, _I'll help them too. They'll be okay._

His vision swam, darkness quickly rushing in, and she caught him before he could fall forward. Her red cloak surrounded him, shutting out the white, but as his siblings slipped from his grasp and he looked down he finally noticed - he was all in red, too.

The nightmare, like everything in Atlas, was bitterly cold.

He was sinking in a sea without water. He could hear the ocean, the roar of water rushing all around him, but all he could feel was the cold. Each limb was an icy weight, dragging him further down. He could hardly breathe.

He could hear voices, distorted and muted, somewhere up above. The various voices faded in and out, none recognizable save for one - the girl in red he swore to follow into hell. She was always there, sometimes shouting and arguing with other voices - the pleading of a group of girls, the anxious concern of a boy, and the deep, patient tones of a man. He knew some voices were missing but he couldn't remember who.

A new voice called to him from somewhere down below. Unlike the agitated and anxious voices above, it called to him happily in a singsong tone. It was accompanied by a tapping, as if someone were outside his bedroom window asking to be let in. The tapping grew louder, the voice more insistent, until he finally opened his eyes.

Jaune blinked blearily at the darkness before him. He went to rub the haze from his eyes but couldn't move his arm. He could make out vague shapes moving in the darkness before him and a glaringly bright light coming from off to the left. He could hear the roaring still, though it reminded him more of holding a seashell to his ear than the actual ocean. Where was he?

Once his vision cleared, he looked down at himself. There was something over his nose and mouth, presumably to help him breathe. His bare chest was covered in wires and tubes and two thick straps that kept him in place. His arms were similarly covered and strapped down. He was reclining slightly and, after shifting his eyes left and right, he realized he was in a glass tube of some kind. The tapping came from below again.

Nora was giving him a horrifying view of the inside of her mouth as she spread her lips against the glass and blew, puffing out her cheeks to make faces up at him. Her eyes lit up when she noticed Jaune watching her and she turned back to the dark room and waved excitedly at someone. A moment later Ren joined her, hands clasped behind his back.

Jaune wanted to cry. They were okay. Not even a scratch on them, as far as he could tell. He had gotten to them in time. He smiled down at them and, despite the breather covering his mouth, they returned it. Nora stepped to the side and hooked a thumb behind her and Jaune's smile grew.

A large table lay just behind where they stood, centered on the apparatus in which Jaune rested. All across its surface were the parts of a weapon he was all too familiar with and sleeping in the middle of the chaos was Ruby. She was resting her head on the table from her seat, face buried in her cloak. He watched with relief as her shoulders rose and fell as she slumbered.

Relief vanished as a sudden panic clawed at his stomach. Where was Weiss, Yang, and Blake? Oscar and Qrow? He looked worriedly to Nora as he struggled weakly against the restraints. What had happened? Who did he fail this time?

Nora patiently tapped the glass until he ceased his flailing and she smiled gently up at him. _They're okay,_ she slowly mouthed to him from the other side of the glass, _they're all okay._ Ren nodded his assent.

Jaune sagged back and shut his eyes against the tears threatening to spill over. They hadn't lost anyone. Against the odds, they'd all made it through again. And to make things better, it seemed he was the only one to end up in the hospital.

He took some time to compose himself. Averting his eyes upward, he waited until the threat of crying passed. Ren and Nora had seen him cry plenty of times in the past and never teased him for it but it was still so _embarrassing_.

After collecting himself, Jaune turned his attention to the room. It was fairly small and unlike any hospital room he'd ever been in before. The right and far walls were lined with equipment, numerous screens giving off a faint green glow and covered in readings he couldn't make out. The left wall was bare save for a single door, the bright light from the hallway beyond pouring through its small square window.

Ruby rested her head on the table that stood just before his tube. Behind her was a cot, unused bedding folded up at one end. He felt guilty having her worry after him like this and guiltier still that it made a part of him happy. At least she was making good use of her time to work on Crescent Rose.

Another tap on the glass drew his gaze back down to Nora. She breathed hard against the glass, causing it to fog up, and drew rapidly with her finger. Ren stood beside her and watched her work with a small amused smile on his face. All of their emblems were there in a row - Jaune's twin arcs, Nora's hammer, Pyrrha's shield and spear, and a blob that had to be Ren's lotus. Nora leaned back and surveyed her drawing, arms folded proudly across her chest.

Ren said something to her, his voice drowned out by the whirr and buzz of the machinery Jaune was contained within. Nora set back to work fogging up the glass just below JNPR's emblems. RWBY's emblems joined theirs, or at least four blobs that could only be them. Ren chuckled into his closed fist while Nora just shrugged and rocked her hand in a so-so gesture. Not her best work but it would do, it seemed to say.

To cap the piece off, she drew a large heart around all eight emblems and added a lightning bolt through it. She huffed and puffed one last time, restoring the drawing in the fog and stepped back to catch her breath, shoulders heaving exaggeratedly.

Ren laid a hand on her shoulder as her breathing slowed. Nora patted his hand as she stared up at Jaune with a soft smile on her face and though he knew she couldn't see it, Jaune couldn't help but smile back. She looked back briefly to Ruby and then back to Jaune before lunging forward to squeeze the glass tube in a massive bear hug.

Jaune worried briefly that the glass would shatter under her ridiculous strength. She rubbed her cheek affectionately against the glass as Ren came up to join her. He pressed a single hand against the tube and gave Jaune a silent nod. Jaune rolled his eyes at the display; usually he was the one who was overly sentimental. _Go get some rest,_ he wanted to tell them. _I'll be okay._

Nora planted a big wet kiss on the glass before skipping her way around the table to Ruby's side. She leaned down, stroking the sleeping girl's hair affectionately as she whispered something in Ruby's ear. Ruby then received a kiss of her own, tenderly placed on top of her head. She stirred briefly from the contact but didn't wake.

Ren turned and bowed his respects to the sleeping girl, bending at the waist and holding there as Nora continued to pet Ruby's hair. He then moved over to Ruby's side, opposite Nora, and they both looked up at him. And though he couldn't hear her, he could read her lips as Nora spoke to him.

_You'll be okay._

Jaune's blood ran cold as he watched them step away from the sleeping Ruby.

_Wait._

Ren turned towards his partner with an extended hand and a smile. Nora ignored the offered hand and leapt onto the boy's back, causing him to stumble back and forth until he found his footing.

_Wait!_

Ren wheeled around unsteadily towards the door, the light from the hallway now blazing through the little square window and along the cracks in the frame. Like an intrepid adventurer on the back of her trusty mount, Nora pointed boldly towards that light - onward to their next adventure.

Jaune bucked against his restraints. The machine complained, an agitated beeping rising along with the pounding of his heart.

As Ren began to stride forward the door suddenly swung open into the room and bathed the two in a white light. Both horse and rider froze, staring wide-eyed through the open doorway. Jaune followed their gazes and saw the hand propping that door open from just beyond the entryway - a long brown glove and bronze bracer he had seen a thousand times, but recently only in dreams and one sad video.

His siblings surged forward into the light, Nora nearly lunging from her partner's back with her arms outstretched. Nora cried out then and though he couldn't hear her, Jaune knew it could only be one name.

Jaune watched helplessly as they rushed into that light. He caught a brief flutter of red cloth as the door swung shut, taking the light and his family with it.

Jaune opened his eyes to a dark, unfamiliar ceiling. He lay there quietly, the steady beep of a machine keeping pace with his heartbeat. Underneath the beeping machine Jaune heard soft, steady breathing. He turned his head left and right, feeling the damp spots on his pillow against his cheeks, until he found her.

Ruby's head rested on the edge of his hospital bed. Even in the low light he could see the fresh trails that ran down her cheeks. Both of her small hands held one of his own, her grip gone slack while she slept.

Jaune held his breath as he turned his hand slowly in her loose grip, running a thumb gently along her calloused palms and strong fingers. Ruby suddenly renewed her hold and pulled his hand closer to her face. He tensed until she murmured something into the back of his hand, new tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes, and went still again. Fresh tears of his own pricked his eyes as he held her small, warm hand.

He waited, clinging to Ruby, for morning to come.

For someone to tell him he'd be okay.


End file.
